U.S. patent application number 11/461996 was filed with the patent office on 2007-10-18 for volatile storage device and serial mixed storage system having the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to GIGA-BYTE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to An-Sheng Chang, Wen-Chi Hung.
Application Number | 20070245076 11/461996 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36998619 |
Filed Date | 2007-10-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070245076 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chang; An-Sheng ; et
al. |
October 18, 2007 |
VOLATILE STORAGE DEVICE AND SERIAL MIXED STORAGE SYSTEM HAVING THE
SAME
Abstract
A volatile storage device and a serial mixed storage system
having the same are provided. The system includes an access
controller, a data transmission interface, a volatile storage
module, a power supply module, an expansion interface and a
non-volatile storage module. The volatile storage module and
non-volatile storage module are connected in series via the
expansion interface. The volatile storage module and the
non-volatile storage module can be used to store data under the
control of the access controller. Further, the power supply module
can supply the stored electric power to the access controller,
volatile storage module, and non-volatile storage module, so as to
keep data stored in the volatile storage module or transfer the
data to the non-volatile storage module, thereby avoiding data loss
caused by power cutoff.
Inventors: |
Chang; An-Sheng; (Taipei
Hsien, TW) ; Hung; Wen-Chi; (Taipei Hsien,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WORKMAN NYDEGGER
60 EAST SOUTH TEMPLE, 1000 EAGLE GATE TOWER
SALT LAKE CITY
UT
84111
US
|
Assignee: |
GIGA-BYTE TECHNOLOGY CO.,
LTD.
Taipei Hsien
TW
|
Family ID: |
36998619 |
Appl. No.: |
11/461996 |
Filed: |
August 2, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
711/112 ;
714/E11.138 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 11/1441 20130101;
G06F 3/0659 20130101; G06F 1/30 20130101; G06F 3/068 20130101; G06F
3/0685 20130101; G06F 3/0607 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
711/112 |
International
Class: |
G06F 12/00 20060101
G06F012/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 12, 2006 |
TW |
095113063 |
Claims
1. A serial mixed storage system, comprising: a first storage
device, comprising: an access controller; a data transmission
interface connected to the access controller; a volatile storage
module connected to the access controller; a power supply module
connected to the volatile storage module and the access controller
for storing electric power so as to supply electric power to the
volatile storage module and the access controller; and at least one
expansion interface connected to the access controller; and a
second storage device connected to the expansion interface; wherein
the access controller is used to control data access of the first
storage device and the second storage device.
2. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 1, wherein
the second storage device comprises: at least one non-volatile
storage module respectively connected to the expansion interface;
wherein the access controller in the first storage device is used
to control data access of the volatile storage module and the
non-volatile storage module.
3. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 2, wherein
the first storage device further comprises: at least one power
supply output interface respectively connecting the power supply
module to the non-volatile storage module, so as to supply the
electric power stored in the power supply module to the connected
non-volatile storage module.
4. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 3, wherein
each power supply output interface is a peripheral component
interconnect (PCI) interface or a PCI-Express interface.
5. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 2, wherein
the first storage device supplies the required electric power to
the non-volatile storage module via each expansion interface.
6. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 1, wherein
the first storage device further comprises: a power supply input
interface connected to the power supply module for supplying the
electric power from the exterior of the serial mixed storage system
to the power supply module.
7. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 6, wherein
the electric power from the exterior of the serial mixed storage
system is used to maintain the operation of the first storage
device.
8. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 7, wherein
when the electric power from the exterior of the serial mixed
storage system is cut off, the power supply module supplies the
stored electric power to the volatile storage module and the access
controller, and the data in the volatile storage module is
transferred to the second storage device; while when the electric
power from the exterior of the serial mixed storage system is
supplied again, the data is restored from the second storage device
to the volatile storage module.
9. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 8, wherein
the second storage device comprises: at least one non-volatile
storage module, respectively connected to the expansion interface;
wherein the access controller in the first storage device is used
to control data access of the volatile storage module and the
non-volatile storage module.
10. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 9, wherein
the first storage device further comprises: at least one power
supply output interface, respectively connecting the power supply
module to the non-volatile storage module, so as to supply the
electric power stored in the power supply module to the connected
non-volatile storage module.
11. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 10, wherein
each of the power supply output interfaces is a PCI interface or a
PCI-Express interface.
12. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 9, wherein
the power supply module of the first storage device supplies the
required electric power to the non-volatile storage module via each
expansion interface.
13. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 6, wherein
the first storage device further comprises: at least one power
supply output interface, respectively connecting the power supply
module to the second storage device, for supplying the electric
power stored in the power supply module to the second storage
device.
14. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 13, wherein
each power supply output interface is a PCI interface or a
PCI-Express interface.
15. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 6, wherein
the power supply module of the first storage device supplies the
required electric power to the second storage device via the
expansion interface.
16. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 6, wherein
the power supply module comprises: a power supply unit, for storing
the electric power to supply the electric power to the volatile
storage module and the access controller; and a power supply
monitoring device, connected to the power supply input interface,
the power supply unit, the volatile storage module, and the access
controller, for monitoring the electric power from the exterior of
the serial mixed storage system via the power supply input
interface.
17. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 16, wherein
when the power supply monitoring device detects that the electric
power from the exterior of the serial mixed storage system is cut
off, the power supply monitoring device actuates the power supply
unit to supply the stored electric power to the volatile storage
module and the access controller.
18. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 6, wherein
the power supply input interface is a PCI interface or a
PCI-Express interface.
19. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 6, wherein
the power supply input interface is connected to a computer
device.
20. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 6, wherein
the power supply input interface is connected to a mains
supply.
21. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 1, wherein
the first storage device further comprises: at least one power
supply output interface, connected between the power supply module
and the second storage device, for supplying the electric power
stored in the power supply module to the second storage device.
22. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 21, wherein
each power supply output interface is a PCI interface or a
PCI-Express interface.
23. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 1, wherein
the data transmission interface is an integrated drive electronics
(IDE) interface, a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA)
interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, or an Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineer 1394 (IEEE 1394)
interface.
24. The serial mixed storage system according to claim 1, wherein
each expansion interface is an IDE interface, a SATA interface, a
USB interface, or an IEEE 1394 interface.
25. A volatile storage device, comprising: an access controller; a
data transmission interface connected to the access controller; a
volatile storage module connected to the access controller; a power
supply module connected to the volatile storage module for storing
electric power to supply the electric power to the volatile storage
module and the access controller; and an expansion interface
connected to the volatile storage module for providing connection
to a non-volatile storage module; wherein the access controller is
used to control data access of the volatile storage module and the
non-volatile storage module.
26. The volatile storage device according to claim 25, further
comprising: a power supply output interface connected between the
power supply module and the non-volatile storage module for
supplying the electric power to the non-volatile storage
module.
27. The volatile storage device according to claim 26, wherein the
power supply output interface is a PCI interface or a PCI-Express
interface.
28. The volatile storage device according to claim 25, wherein the
power supply module supplies the required electric power to the
non-volatile storage module via the expansion interface.
29. The volatile storage device according to claim 25, further
comprising: a power supply input interface, connected to the power
supply module, for supplying the electric power from the exterior
of the volatile storage device to the power supply module.
30. The volatile storage device according to claim 29, wherein the
electric power from the exterior of the volatile storage device is
used to maintain the operation of the volatile storage device and
the access controller.
31. The volatile storage device according to claim 30, when the
electric power from the exterior of the volatile storage device is
cut off, the power supply module supplies the stored electric power
to the volatile storage module and the access controller, and the
data in the volatile storage module is transferred to the
non-volatile storage module; while when the electric power from the
exterior of the volatile storage device is supplied again, the data
is restored from the non-volatile storage module to the volatile
storage module.
32. The volatile storage device according to claim 29, further
comprising: a power supply output interface connected between the
power supply module and the non-volatile storage module for
supplying the electric power to the non-volatile storage
module.
33. The volatile storage device according to claim 32, wherein the
power supply output interface is a PCI interface or a PCI-Express
interface.
34. The volatile storage device according to claim 29, wherein the
power supply module supplies the required electric power to the
non-volatile storage module via the expansion interface.
35. The volatile storage device according to claim 29, wherein the
power supply module comprises: a power supply unit for storing the
electric power to supply the electric power to the volatile storage
module and the access controller; and a power supply monitoring
device connected to the power supply input interface, the power
supply unit, the volatile storage module, and the access controller
for monitoring the electric power from the exterior of the volatile
storage device.
36. The volatile storage device according to claim 35, wherein when
the power supply monitoring device detects that the electric power
from the exterior of the volatile storage device is cut off, the
power supply monitoring device actuates the power supply unit to
supply the stored electric power to the volatile storage module and
the access controller.
37. The volatile storage device according to claim 29, wherein the
power supply input interface is a PCI interface or a PCI-Express
interface.
38. The volatile storage device according to claim 29, wherein the
power supply input interface is connected to a computer device.
39. The volatile storage device according to claim 29, wherein the
power supply input interface is connected to a mains supply.
40. The volatile storage device according to claim 25, wherein the
data transmission interface is an IDE interface, a SATA interface,
a USB interface, or an IEEE 1394 interface.
41. The volatile storage device according to claim 25, wherein each
expansion interface is an IDE interface, a SATA interface, a USB
interface, or an IEEE 1394 interface.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This non-provisional application claims priority under 35
U.S.C. .sctn. 119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 095113063 filed
in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Apr. 12, 2006, the entire contents of which
are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a data storage device
adaptable to a computer device, and more particularly to a volatile
storage device and a serial mixed storage system having the
same.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] With the progress of science and technology, workings such
as calculating, recording, communicating, and query can be carried
out with the help of computer devices. Therefore, computer devices
have gradually become an essential tool in work and daily life.
Typically, a computer device includes various storage devices, for
example, random access memory (RAM), hard disk, floppy drive, or
flash disk. The RAM is a volatile storage device and can provide a
fast data access. On the other hand, the hard disk and floppy drive
are non-volatile storage device, and provide a relative slow data
access.
[0006] However, in recent years, a RAM disk is developed and used
to reduce the data access time, thereby improving the overall
efficiency. As such, a software design is adopted to enable the
computer device to utilize a memory in the same way of using a hard
disk. For example, a memory in the computer device is divided into
a system block and a memory disk block, wherein the system block is
provided for an operating system (OS), and the memory disk block is
used to temporarily function as a hard disk. The range of the
memory location and capacity of the memory disk block in the memory
are declared to the OS in a start-up procedure. Then, the OS
resides a management program in the system block, in which the
management program is used to manage the data access of the memory
disk block. When the CPU intends to access the hard disk, the
management program intercepts the interrupt vector corresponding to
the hard disk access and then temporarily records the data
pre-determined to be stored in the hard disk into the memory disk
block of the memory.
[0007] However, as the memory belongs to a volatile storage device,
when the computer device is shut down, the data stored in the
memory may be lost due to the cut off of the power supply.
Therefore, a computer device must be provided with a hard disk,
such that before the computer device is shut down, the user data
registered in the memory disk block is transferred to the hard disk
to avoid data loss. But, when the power supply is unexpectedly cut
off, the user data registered in the memory disk block cannot be
transferred to the hard disk in time, and thus the user data may
still be lost due to the cut off of the electric power.
[0008] Moreover, as the memory disk block and system block share a
memory space, when the computer device asks for a large memory
space to execute application programs, only a small memory disk
block can be used to register data.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
volatile storage device and a serial mixed storage system having
the same for solving the problems of insufficient storage capacity
of the volatile storage device and data loss due to the cut off of
the electric power in the conventional art and raising the speed of
the computer.
[0010] Therefore, in order to achieve the above objects, a serial
mixed storage system described in the present invention comprises a
first storage device and a second storage device. The first storage
device is a volatile storage device, which at least has an access
controller, a data transmission interface, a volatile storage
module, a power supply module, and an expansion interface. The data
transmission interface, access controller, and volatile storage
module are connected in sequence. The power supply module is
connected to the volatile storage module and the access controller,
wherein an electric power is stored to be supplied to the volatile
storage module and access controller when the electric power is cut
off, so as to maintain operations and transferring the data of the
volatile storage module, thereby avoiding the possible loss of
stored data caused by the cut off of the electric power.
[0011] Moreover, the access controller is connected in series with
the second storage device via the expansion interface, so as to
combine the capacities of the first storage device and the second
storage device, thereby expanding the storage space.
[0012] Further, the access controller is used to determine the data
access of the volatile storage module and the second storage
device. As such, the volatile storage module and the second storage
device are utilized to store data of the computer device under the
control of the access controller, thereby significantly raising the
overall speed of the computer device.
[0013] Moreover, the first storage device further has a power
supply input interface connected to an external power supply, so as
to provide electric power to the serial mixed storage system for
charging and/or operating. Moreover, the first storage device can
directly supply electric power to the second storage device via the
expansion interface, or the first storage device can be
electrically connected to the power supply module and the second
storage device via a power supply output interface, so as to
provide electric power required by the second storage device to
operate.
[0014] The features and practice of the preferred embodiments of
the present invention will be illustrated in detail below with the
accompanying drawings.
[0015] Further scope of applicability of the present invention will
become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter.
However, it should be understood that the detailed description and
specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the
invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various
changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the
invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from
this detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The present invention will become more fully understood from
the detailed description given herein below for illustration only,
and thus is not limitative of the present invention, and
wherein:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a volatile storage device and
a serial mixed storage system having the same according to the
present invention.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a volatile storage device with
a plurality of expansion interfaces and a serial mixed storage
system having the same.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the volatile storage device
and the serial mixed storage system having the same connected to a
computer device according to the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the volatile storage device
and the power supply module of the serial mixed storage system
having the same according to the present invention, and the
connection between the present invention and an external power
supply.
[0021] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the volatile storage device
and the serial mixed storage system having the same supplying
electric power to a second storage device according to the present
invention.
[0022] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the volatile storage device
connected to the computer device according to the present
invention.
[0023] FIG. 7A is a schematic view of the volatile storage device
and the serial mixed storage system having the same according to a
first embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 7B is a schematic view of the volatile storage device
and the serial mixed storage system having the same according to a
second embodiment of the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 8A is a schematic view of the volatile storage device
and the serial mixed storage system having the same according to a
third embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 8B is a schematic view of the volatile storage device
and the serial mixed storage system having the same according to a
fourth embodiment of the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 9A is a schematic view of the volatile storage device
and the serial mixed storage system having the same according to a
fifth embodiment of the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 9B is a schematic view of the volatile storage device
and the serial mixed storage system having the same according to a
sixth embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0029] The content of the present invention will be described in
details in the following embodiments with accompanying drawings.
The symbols mentioned in the specification are symbols in the
drawings.
[0030] As shown in FIG. 1, it is a serial mixed storage system
according to an embodiment of the present invention. The serial
mixed storage system comprises a first storage device 100 and a
second storage device 200.
[0031] The first storage device 100 has an access controller 110, a
data transmission interface 120, a volatile storage module 130, a
power supply module 140 and an expansion interface 150. The
volatile storage module 130 is connected to the data transmission
interface 120 through the access controller 110. The volatile
storage module 130 can be volatile memories such as synchronous
dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) or double data rate random
access memory (DDRAM).
[0032] The expansion interface 150 is connected to the access
controller 110 to provide connection to the second storage device
200. The expansion interface 150 can be transmission interfaces
such as integrated drive electronics (IDE), serial advanced
technology attachment (SATA), universal serial bus (USB), or
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer 1394 (IEEE 1394).
As shown in FIG. 2, the second storage device 200 can comprise one
or more non-volatile storage modules 210, wherein the non-volatile
storage module 210 can be storage devices such as hard disks, flash
disks, or memory cards. More than one expansion interface 150 can
be disposed on the first storage device 100 for providing
connection to more than one non-volatile storage module 210. As
such, the storage space is expanded through connecting the first
storage device 100 and the second storage device 200.
[0033] The data transmission interface 120 is used to provide
connection to application devices. As shown in FIG. 3, when the
serial mixed storage system of the present invention is applied to
a computer device 300, the serial mixed storage system can be
connected to the computer device 300 via the data transmission
interface 120. The data transmission interface 120 can be
transmission interfaces such as IDE, SATA, USB, or IEEE 1394.
[0034] The access controller 110 determines the data access of the
volatile storage module 130 and non-volatile storage module 210. In
other words, the access controller 110 receives a data access
signal sent by the application device and accordingly determines
accessing the volatile storage module 130 or the non-volatile
storage module 210. When the computer device 300 intends to access
data, the access controller 110 first stores the data preferably to
the volatile storage module 130, such that the computer device 300
can quickly read the data during the next reading. When the stored
data is too large for the volatile storage module 130 to store, the
access controller 110 utilizes the non-volatile storage module 210
to continue the data storage.
[0035] For example, when the capacity of the volatile storage
module 130 in the first storage device 100 is 8G and the capacity
of the non-volatile storage module 210 in the second storage device
200 is 100G, the computer device 300 determines the serial mixed
storage system to be a 108G storage device via the access
controller 110 in the first storage device 100. Further, when
installing an OS, the access controller 110 first preferably uses
the 8G volatile storage module 130 to store data, and then uses the
100G non-volatile storage module 210 to store data. As the access
speed of the volatile memory is higher than that of the
non-volatile memory, the access speed is far beyond the computer
device using a non-volatile memory when accessing data, thus
providing a quicker speed in starting up and executing program.
Moreover, when data is stored in both the volatile storage module
130 and the non-volatile storage module 210, with the disk
reconfiguration program, the commonly used data in the second
storage device 200 is displaced to the memory space in the volatile
storage module 130, so as to greatly enhance the execution
efficiency of the computer device 300.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 4, the first storage device 100 further
comprises a power supply input interface 170 for providing
connection to an external power supply 400, so as to supply
electric power to the serial mixed storage system for charging and
operating. The external power supply 400 can be electric power
provided by a mains supply or an application device. However, in
other preferred embodiments, electric power can be obtained via the
data transmission interface 120 from the application device instead
of the power supply input interface 170 connected to the external
power supply 400.
[0037] The power supply module 140 is connected to the volatile
storage module 130 and the access controller 110, for providing the
stored electric power to maintain the data stored in the volatile
storage module 130 and the operation of the access controller 110
when the electric power is cut off. When the second storage device
200 is connected to the first storage device 100, the power supply
module 140 also supplies electric power to the second storage
device when the electric power is cut off. The power supply module
140 comprises a power supply unit 142 and a power supply monitoring
device 144. The power supply unit 142 is a secondary battery
(rechargeable battery) for storing electric power and supplying
electric power to the serial mixed storage system when electric
power is cut off, so as to maintain the operation of the system.
Further, the power supply monitoring device 144 monitors the state
of the power supply, and supplies the electric power stored in the
power supply unit 142 to the volatile storage module 130, the
access controller 110, and the second storage device 200, such that
the data stored in the volatile storage module 130 is transferred
to the non-volatile storage module 210 of the second storage device
200, thereby avoiding possible data loss of the volatile storage
module 130 caused by the unexpected cut off of the power supply.
Moreover, when the power supply is supplied again, the access
controller 110 restore the data transferred to the non-volatile
storage module 210 to the volatile storage module 130, and the
power supply unit 142 is charged by the electric power of the
external power supply 400 under the condition that the power supply
is supplied again. Moreover, the power supply monitoring device 144
can be further provided with a timing mechanism to activate timing
when the electric power is cut off. When the timing is ended and
the power supply is not supplied yet, the access controller 110 is
actuated to transfer the data in the volatile storage module 130 to
the non-volatile storage module 210.
[0038] The first storage device 100 can directly supply the
electric power of the power supply module 140 to the second storage
device 200 via the expansion interface 150. As shown in FIG. 5, the
first storage device 100 can also provide electric power required
by the second storage device 200 to operate via utilizing a power
supply output interface 172 to electrically connect the power
supply module 140 and the second storage device 200.
[0039] In view of the above, the present invention can store the
commonly used data into the volatile storage module 130, thereby
raising the access speed and greatly improving the overall speed of
the application device. Further, when the power supply is
unexpectedly cut off, the data stored in the volatile storage
module 130 can be stored by activating an automatic transfer
mechanism, thus avoiding the data loss.
[0040] Moreover, the first storage device 100 can also be used
without being connected to the second storage device. As shown in
FIG. 6, only the first storage device 100 is connected to the
computer device 300, and at this time, the first storage device can
be used as a hard disk. When the power supply is cut off, the data
in the volatile storage module 130 can be stored via the electric
power provided by the power supply module 140 and be re-used after
the power supply is supplied again.
[0041] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are
described as follows.
[0042] In a first embodiment as shown in FIG. 7A, the first storage
device 100 is in the form of an interface card and transmits data
by connecting the data transmission interface 120 to the computer
device 300. The data transmission interface 120 can be transmission
interfaces such as IDE or SATA. The power supply input interface
170 is connected to an expansion slot 320 of the computer device
300 and the power supply input interface 170 can be transmission
interfaces such as ISA, PCI or PCI-Express. When the non-volatile
storage module 210 of the second storage device 200 is a hard disk,
the expansion interface 150 for providing connection to the second
storage device can be transmission interfaces such as IDE or SATA.
At this time, the first storage device 100 supplies the electric
power of the power supply module 140 to the second storage device
200 via the power supply output interface 172. The first storage
device 100 can be wired from the expansion interface 150 to a back
plate (baffle) of the interface card or to the outside of the case
of the computer device 300, so as to provide connection to the
second storage device 200 directly from the exterior of the
case.
[0043] In a second embodiment as shown in FIG. 7B, the first
storage device 100 is in the form of an interface card and
transmits data by connecting the data transmission interface 120 to
the computer device 300, wherein the data transmission interface
120 can be transmission interfaces such as IDE or SATA. The power
supply input interface 170 is connected to the expansion slot 320
of the computer device 300 and the power supply input interface 170
can be transmission interfaces such as ISA, PCI, or PCI-Express.
When the non-volatile storage module 210 of the second storage
device 200 is a flash disk, a card reader, or a memory card that
can be directly inserted in a USB or IEEE 1394, the expansion
interface 150 for providing connection to the second storage device
200 can be transmission interfaces such as USB or IEEE 1394. The
first storage device 100 can be wired from the expansion interface
150 to a back plate (baffle) of the interface card or to the
exterior of the case of the computer device 300, so as to provide
connection to the second storage device 200 directly from the
exterior of the case.
[0044] In a third embodiment as shown in FIG. 8A, the first storage
device 100 can be installed in the same way of installing the hard
disk drive or optical disk drive in the case in the prior art, and
can transmit data by connecting the data transmission interface 120
to the computer device 300, wherein the data transmission interface
120 can be transmission interfaces such as IDE or SATA. The power
supply input interface 170 is connected to a power supply 310 of
the computer device 300. When the non-volatile storage module 210
of the second storage device 200 is a hard disk, the expansion
interface 150 for providing connection to the second storage device
200 can be transmission interfaces such as IDE or SATA. At this
time, the first storage device 100 supplies the electric power of
the power supply module 140 to the second storage device 200 via
the power supply output interface 172.
[0045] In a fourth embodiment as shown in FIG. 8B, the first
storage device 100 can be installed in the same way of installing
the hard disk drive or optical disk drive in the case in the prior
art, and can transmit data by connecting the data transmission
interface 120 to the computer device 300, wherein the data
transmission interface 120 can be transmission interfaces such as
IDE or SATA. The power supply input interface 170 is connected to
the power supply 310 of the computer device 300. When the
non-volatile storage module 210 of the second storage device 200 is
a flash disk, a card reader, or a memory card that can be directly
inserted into a USB or IEEE 1394, the expansion interface 150 for
providing connection to the second storage device 200 can be
transmission interfaces such as USB or IEEE 1394. The expansion
interface 150 of the first storage device 100 can be directly
exposed outside the computer device 300 or can be wired to the
outside of the case of the computer device 300 for providing
connection to the second storage device 200.
[0046] In a fifth embodiment as shown in FIG. 9A, the first storage
device 100 can be installed in the same way of installing an
external hard disk, and can transmit data by connecting the data
transmission interface 120 to the computer device 300, wherein the
data transmission interface 120 can be transmission interfaces such
as IDE, SATA, USB, or IEEE 1394. The power supply module 140 is
powered by a mains supply 410 via the power supply input interface
170. When the non-volatile storage module 210 of the second storage
device 200 is a hard disk, the expansion interface 150 for
providing connection to the second storage device 200 can be
transmission interfaces such as IDE or SATA. At this time, the
first storage device 100 supplies the electric power of the power
supply module 140 to the second storage device 200 via the power
supply output interface 172.
[0047] In a sixth embodiment as shown in FIG. 9B, the first storage
device 100 is installed in the same way of installing an external
hard disk, and can transmit data by connecting the data
transmission interface 120 to the computer device 300, wherein the
data transmission interface can be transmission interfaces such as
IDE, SATA, USB, or IEEE 1394. The power supply module 140 is
powered by the mains supply 410 via the power supply input
interface 170 and can also be powered via the data transmission
interface 120. When the non-volatile storage module 210 of the
second storage device 200 is a flash disk, a card reader, or a
memory card that can be directly inserted into a USB or IEEE 1394,
the expansion interface 150 for providing connection to the second
storage device 200 can be transmission interfaces such as USB or
IEEE 1394.
[0048] Further, when the first storage device 100 has more than two
expansion interfaces 150, the expansion interfaces have different
specifications namely SATA and USB. The SATA is used to provide
connection to the hard disk and supply electric power to the hard
disk via the power supply output interface 172, while USB is used
to provide connection to the flash disk or the memory card that can
be directly inserted into a USB.
[0049] The present invention is to provide a volatile storage
device and a serial mixed storage system having the same. Therefor,
the problems of insufficient storage capacity of the volatile
storage device and data loss due to the cut off of the electric
power in the prior art can be solved and raise the speed of the
computer.
[0050] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that
the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be
regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention,
and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in
the art are intended to be included within the scope of the
following claims.
* * * * *